Burnout and Allostatic Overload

What causes burnout and allostatic overload?

An extended period with without enough recovery.

The word allostatic an ancient Greek word that describes how our bodies and minds become exhausted from too long of a period of being stressed with insufficient rest and recovery. Regardless of your station in life, you must give your mind and body the necessary rest to recover and repair itself from the day-to-day overload; this is true of the athlete or police officer as well as the office worker.

Don’t let burnout happen to you.

The Christian bible tells us we must have one day of complete rest each week. Even the beasts of burden working in our fields need that day of rest. That was important a thousand years ago, and it is important in today’s busy world.

Is there an easy way to dump this allostatic overload?

Yes, there are many ways to get out of this overload but the important point is to recognize the problem. You can’t fix what you don’t comprehend. You need to understand that you are not superhuman and decide that you must rest and repair yourself, and do it before the big heart attack or stroke.

1. Cold therapy. Some people do a reset with ice baths. The sudden change can force the body and mind into a fight of flight mode that cause the brain to create chemicals that resets us for survival. I think that is a good choice for some of us. Cold showers and cold baths helped me to overcome my problems.

It happened to me

In my exuberance to make the world go my way I spent many years overworking my mind and body. When exhaustion finally hit me I was fortunate to recognize the problem and to make the necessary changes. I shut down my chainsaws and laid down my sledgehammer and decided to get into cold therapy. Within two weeks the problem was greatly relieved. My muscle cramps and other problems are not all behind me. I still eat a tablespoon of black strap molasses daily for the potassium and magnesium I need to relieve the muscle cramps in my legs.